a) Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a lever lock or lever closure such as a swivel lever closure or folding lever closure comprising a trough which can be fastened to a door leaf or the like, a hand lever for driving a closure actuation device being arranged at one end of the trough such that it can be folded out and/or swiveled, and a first locking device such as a cylinder lock or the like is arranged at the other end of the trough for locking the hand lever in the folded in position, with another locking device supported by the hand lever and an engagement surface which is arranged at the free end of the hand lever and behind which a blocking element engages, this blocking element proceeding from or being movable by the first locking device for locking the hand lever in the folded in position.
b) Description of the Related Art
A swivel lever closure which can be locked in a simple manner is known from EP 0261266 A1. In order to lock the swivel lever in its folded in position, a profile cylinder lock is accommodated in the swivel lever and stops with its cam or thumb against an engagement surface formed by the trough when locking is actuated by the cylinder lock when the lever is folded in. A disadvantage in locks of this type is the fact that a key which can get lost is required for opening or closing the lock. The key which is inserted into the cylinder lock is also troublesome when actuating, e.g., when folding up and/or swiveling, the swivel lever.
There are also swivel lever closures, e.g., in WO 99/01634, in which the swivel lever is held in the folded in position by means of a springing tongue, wherein unlocking is carried out by inserting a key into a cylinder whose thumb movement causes the unlocking or, more simply, by pressing on an unlocking button or knob which, e.g., pulls back a locking pin or locking tongue against spring force and unlocks the swivel lever so that it can be folded out.
Locking by means of a key-operated cam or thumb is disadvantageous, again, due to the impediment posed by the key and because the key call be lost, whereas the tongue lock in the known embodiment forms has the possible additional disadvantage that, while meeting the demands of normal operation, it can easily be overcome in case of unauthorized, particularly forceful, attempts at opening.
The construction according to EP 0261266 A1 is more advantageous than WO 99/01634 insofar as it has a greater resistance to unauthorized attempts at opening. This is due to the fact that in WO 99/01634 the forces must be applied by the area of the trough located in front of the door leaf plane, and accordingly can not be supported directly on the rear surface of the door leaf.
A lever closure with a double lock, one in the trough and one in the hand lever, is already known from European Patent 0 526 522 B1. Reference is had particularly to the embodiment form shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 of this reference.
In switch cabinets which must be monitored by the maintenance personnel of an electric power plant but whose interior must also be accessible to the clientele of this electric power plant so as to monitor its operation, it is advantageous to lock and unlock the closure with two different keys.
The known construction is very solid, but also very costly to produce and therefore not optimal for many purposes. Further, the key in the hand lever is troublesome as is the relatively large overall length resulting from the fact that two relatively long cylinder locks are arranged in tandem. In applications where lower expenditure is required or less space is available, these known closure devices can not always be used.
The closing device according to DE 40 06 072 C1 also has the disadvantage of a relatively large structural length. Another disadvantage consists in a large structural width which is caused by a slide which is mounted so as to be displaceable in the trough vertical to the longitudinal axis of the trough, which slide is
There are also swivel lever closures, e.g., in WO 99/01634, in which the swivel lever is held in the folded in position by means of a springing tongue, wherein unlocking is carried out by inserting a key into a cylinder whose thumb movement causes the unlocking or, more simply, by pressing on an unlocking button or knob which, e.g., pulls back a locking pin or locking tongue against spring force and unlocks the swivel lever so that it can be folded out.
Locking by means of a key-operated cam or thumb is disadvantageous, again, due to the impediment posed by the key and because the key can be lost, whereas the tongue lock in the known embodiment forms has the possible additional disadvantage that, while meeting the demands of normal operation, it can easily be overcome in case of unauthorized, particularly forceful, attempts at opening.
The construction according to EP 0261266 A1 is more advantageous than WO 99/01634 insofar as it has a greater resistance to unauthorized attempts at opening. This is due to the fact that in WO 99/01634 the forces must be applied by the area of the trough located in front of the door leaf plane, and accordingly can not be supported directly on the rear surface of the door leaf.
A lever closure with a double lock, one in the trough and one in the hand lever, is already known from European Patent 0 526 522 B1. Reference is had particularly to the embodiment form shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 of this reference.
In switch cabinets which must be monitored by the maintenance personnel of an electric power plant but whose interior must also be accessible to the clientele of this electric power plant so as to monitor its operation, it is advantageous to lock and unlock the closure with two different keys.
The known construction is very solid, but also very costly to produce and therefore not optimal for many purposes. Further, the key in the hand lever is troublesome as is the relatively large overall length resulting from the fact that two relatively long cylinder locks are arranged in tandem. In applications where lower expenditure is required or less space is available, these known closure devices can not always be used.
The closing device according to DE 40 06 072 C1 also has the disadvantage of a relatively large structural length. Another disadvantage consists in a large structural width which is caused by a slide which is mounted so as to be displaceable in the trough vertical to the longitudinal axis of the trough, which slide is displaceable by means of a first half-cylinder arranged in the trough and forms a lock for the hand lever or for the lock bolt of a second cylinder arranged in the hand lever.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,268,077 A is also mentioned, although it has an even greater structural length because the hand lever carries devices to lock it in its center instead of at the free end.
A swivel lever closure according to EP 0 453 626 B1 has a very large structural length due to its design, wherein two half-cylinders which are arranged in tandem either in the trough (FIGS. 5, 6) or in the hand lever (FIGS. 1-3) actuate a locking strip that is arranged in the trough or in the hand lever so as to be axially displaceable.